Manipur ambush: Congress says intelligence failure led to attack

A Congress leader added that the NDA government must take strong steps to deal with the menace of terrorism.

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Amit Agnihotri

New Delhi

June 6, 2015

UPDATED: June 6, 2015 09:23 IST

The Congress on Friday blamed intelligence failure behind the ambush in Manipur in which 18 soldiers were killed on Thursday, saying, as Opposition, the BJP had always accused the UPA of being weak in its terror policy. "It is sad but that the intelligence agencies do not know who is behind the attack," Congress spokesperson RPN Singh said.

Noting that such a ghastly incident had happened after 33 years, Singh, a former minister of state in the previous UPA government, said within one year of NDA government, three such incidents had taken place in the north-eastern part of India.

Three soldiers were killed in an ambush by NSCN-K in Arunachal Pradesh's Tirap district on April 2. On May 3, seven Assam Rifles troopers and one personnel of the Territorial Army were killed in another ambush in Nagaland's Mon district by newly-floated United Liberation Front of Western South East Asia comprising NSCN-K, ULFA, Kamatapur Liberation Organisation and NDFB-Songbijit.

Saying the NDA government must take strong steps to deal with the menace of terrorism as the crucial defence and home ministries were "being run by the prime minister's office", the Congress leader assured full support to the government.

Accusing the government of neglecting national security, Singh said, "There have been a thousand ceasefire violations along India's western border and it would be better if Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar paid attention to the needs of the soldiers than issuing statements like 'Ganesha with narrow eyes and retaliting Pakistan-sponsored terror with terror'.